Module 1: Copyright and the Public Domain

by Melanie Dulong de Rosnay and William Fisher

Learning objective

This module explores the basic concepts, rights, and limitations of copyright law. It provides a general introduction to elements of copyright important to librarians. Other modules will elaborate further on these topics.

Case study

“I want to build a course pack for my students, what material may I include?”

Angela, a music professor, is visiting her school’s library to collect material to build a course pack for her students. She would like to include excerpts from books, electronic resources and scores. She also wants to post selected music and video clips online with her commentary. Nadia, the librarian, will explain to Angela what she may and may not do.

What Is Copyright?

Copyright law allows authors and artists to control certain uses of their work for certain periods of time. It limits who may copy, change, or share a work.

There are many reasons why copyright law exists. Most people argue that copyright law encourages creativity by allowing people to make money off their work. They believe the primary purpose of copyright is to inspire new culture, not enrich the authors. The way many important copyright laws are written support this interpretation. For example, the "Copyright Clause" of the United States Constitution instructs the Congress to "promote the progress of science and useful arts" with copyright. The ancient English Statute of Anne was intended to "encourage learning."

Others make different arguments in favor of copyright law. For example, some believe it ensures authors are paid fairly for their effort. Another argument says that creative works are part of the personality of their creator. Copyright law protects the artist or author's personality from being taken without permission.

Although copyright law reserves many rights to authors it also limits many of these rights. Some of these limitations help librarians add to the free flow of knowledge and culture. Chief among these protected freedoms is the public domain.

What Is The Public Domain?

The public domain is a collection of creative works that are no longer covered by the limited terms of copyright law. For example, suppose the fictional country of Booktonia (which produces more books than any other country in the fictional world) has a copyright term of 20 years. An excellent history of Booktonia is written in 1980. 20 years later, in the year 2000, its copyright will expire and it will "fall into" the public domain. Once a work is in the public domain, the restrictions of copyright law no longer apply, and anyone may copy, redistribute, perform, or excerpt the work as they wish.

At its core, the public domain functions as a pool of creative works from which anyone may draw. It provides authors the raw cultural materials from which the next generation of books, movies, songs, and knowledge are manufactured. The public domain is the inspirational reservoir from which the rivers of creativity flow. Or, as the 14th century English poet Chaucer (whose work is now in the public domain) wrote, "For out of the old fields, as men say, Comes all this new corn, from year to year; And out of old books, in good faith, Comes all this new science that men learn."

Who Makes Copyright Law?

Each country establishes its own copyright laws. Those laws determine who acquires a copyright, what rights the copyright owner enjoys, how long the copyright lasts, and so forth.

Several international treaties (which you will learn more about in the next module) limit the flexibility that each country enjoys when shaping its copyright laws. But within those limits, each nation sets its own rules. As a result, copyright law varies significantly from one country to another.

For example, copyright law differs dramatically between countries depending on whether that country has a common law or civil law system. In common law countries courts are very powerful and have considerable control over what the law means. In civil law countries, by contrast, courts tend to defer to the legislature. In still other countries, religious legal systems also affect copyright rules. A list of the legal systems of different countries may be found here.

No matter what the legal system, however, copyright law is constantly evolving to meet new creative, technological, and social challenges. Often those reforms are driven by interest groups who seek to benefit their members. In the past, for example, associations of librarians have frequently played important roles in the debates over how copyright laws should be modified.

What Does Copyright Law Protect?

Copyright law generally covers all “original works of authorship.” Such original works come in many forms. For example, in almost all countries, all of the following are protected by copyright law:

• literary works (books, articles, letters, websites, etc.);

• musical works;

• dramatic works (operas, plays);

• graphic arts (photographs, sculptures, paintings, etc.);

• motion pictures and audiovisual works (movies, videos, television programs; etc.);

• architectural works;

• computer software.

In some countries, sound recordings are also protected by copyright law; in other countries, sound recordings are protected by a separate, related set of rules known as “neighboring rights.” In some countries, government works – such as charts, official reports, and judicial opinions – are protected by copyright law; in others, they are considered part of the public domain.

It is important to remember that copyright never applies to ideas or facts. It only covers “original expression” – in other words, the distinctive way in which ideas are conveyed. So, for example, the information contained in a newspaper article is not protected by copyright law. You are permitted, after reading an article, to write and publish a new article conveying the same information in different words. Similarly, you are permitted, after reading a work of history, to write another book, expressing in different words the same facts.

Most countries require the original expression to be fixed in a tangible medium, like paper or a digital recording format, in order to enjoy copyright protection. In those countries, improvisational performances – such as jazz or choreography – are not protected unless their authors record them.

In general, the author of a work enjoys copyright protection as soon as the work has been fixed – for example, through writing, painting, or audio recording. Copyright does not protect a work until it is fixed. For instance, a screenplay that exists only in the screenwriter’s mind or the plot of a novel that the novelist explains orally to a potential publisher is not protected. But once fixation occurs – even of a rough, preliminary draft – the work becomes protected, even if it has yet to be published or even made public. So, for example, private letters, diaries, and email messages are all protected by copyright law.

Some countries once required published works to be registered with a central office or to carry a copyright notice with the name of the author and the year of publication in order to enjoy copyright protection. Such procedures are no longer necessary. However, registering a copyright may help prove authorship or indicate who must be contacted before a work can be reused. And in some countries, compliance with these formalities is necessary before one is permitted to sue someone for copyright infringement. In addition, some countries continue to require publishers to deposit one copy of every new work in a designated office, such as a National Library.

Who Gets A Copyright?

A copyright is ordinarily obtained by the author of a work. If you write a novel, paint a painting, or compose a song, you automatically acquire the copyright in your creation.

The situation is more complicated if you are an employee creating the work as part of your employment. Countries vary as great deal in how they deal with such situations. Typically, in countries that follow the common law tradition, the copyright in a work prepared by an employee goes to the employer. By contrast, in countries that follow the civil law tradition, the copyright typically goes to the employee. However, in civil-law countries, employment contracts or even copyright law often give employers rights over their employees’ creations similar (though not identical) to the copyrights enjoyed by employers in common-law countries.

What Rights Come With Copyright?

Copyrights typically carry with them two kinds of rights: economic rights and moral rights.

Economic rights give authors control over how their works can be used to make money. These are things that only the owner of the copyright may do unless they explicitly grant permission to others. The primary economic rights are:

• the right to reproduce the work – in other words, to make copies of it;

• the right to create derivative works - such as translations, abridgments, or adaptations;

• the right to distribute the work – for example, by selling or renting copies of it;

• the right to perform or display the work.

Moral rights are designed to protect authors’ noneconomic interests in their creations. Moral rights do not exist in all countries. Generally speaking, they are recognized more widely and are enforced more firmly in civil-law countries than in common-law countries. The primary moral rights are:

• the right of integrity – for example, the right to prevent the destruction or defacement of a painting or sculpture;

• the right of attribution – in other words, the right to be given appropriate credit for one’s creations, and not to be blamed for things one did not create;

• he right of disclosure – the right to determine when and if a work shall be made public;

• the right of withdrawal – the right to remove from public circulation copies of a work one has come to regret.

Neighboring rights are a close cousin of copyright. They are economic rights granted to persons who are not authors of the work but who contribute to their creation. They may include performers, producers, and broadcasting associations.

Some countries also have privacy and publicity rights that complement copyright. For example, some countries prevent the public distribution of works that contain personally identifiable information unless permission is granted by that person.

Using Copyrighted Works

Under four circumstances, persons other than copyright owners are permitted to engage in the activities described in the preceding section.

First, many books, articles, sound recordings and so forth have fallen into the public domain and thus may be used by anyone for any purpose. All works eventually fall into the public domain because, as we have seen, copyrights do not last forever. Unfortunately, determining whether the copyright on a particular work has expired is harder than one might think. A guide helpful in determining whether a copyright in the United States has expired may be found at http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/. Guides to the corresponding rules in other countries may be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyright_situations_by_country. Even if the maximum term of the copyright on a particular work has not expired, it may have fallen into the public domain because the copyright owner neglected (or decided not) to “renew” the copyright. Finally, on occasion, a copyright owner will dedicate a work to the public domain – just as landowners occasionally dedicate real property to the public for use as a park.

Second, as mentioned above, the copyright laws of every country establish various exceptions and limitations to the rights of copyright owners. In other words, the laws identify activities that users can engage in for free and without permission. Most of these exceptions are quite specific. Examples include quoting short passages of literary works for purposes of criticism; photocopying for archival purposes by libraries, and converting works into formats suitable for handicapped persons. A few, however, are general and open-ended. The most general of all is the fair-use doctrine, which applies in the United States and a few other countries.

Third, a person who wishes to use a copyrighted work (that has not fallen into the public domain) in a way not covered by a special statutory exception or limitation can, of course, obtain the permission of the copyright owner. The simplest way to obtain such permission is to request a license. Often, the copyright owner will grant a license for free. At other times, the owner will demand a fee. In either event, the license should be specific and in writing.

Various organizations facilitate the processes of requesting and granting copyright licenses. For example, in some countries, collecting societies act as agents for large numbers of copyright owners, for example by granting “blanket licenses” to radio and television stations that wish to make use of their entire catalogues in return for an annual fee. Another example is Creative Commons, which helps copyright owners grant free licenses to use their works in specified ways – and helps potential users determine quickly and easily what licenses have been granted.

Fourth and finally, most countries require copyright owners to grant to users permission to engage in certain activities in return for fees set, not by the copyright owners, but by a government tribunal of some sort. For example, the owners of the copyrights in musical works may be obliged to permit musicians to make “covers” of songs that have already been recorded and distributed to the public – in return for fees set by the government. Such co-called “compulsory licenses” are becoming increasingly common.

Back to the case study

Nadia (the librarian) should help Angela (the professor) organize the set of materials she has gathered by asking a series of questions:

· Have any of the materials fallen into – or been dedicated to – the public domain?

· Of the remaining materials, have any been licensed under open-access terms, such as a Creative Commons license?

· With respect to any materials not covered by such licenses, does a statutory exemption permit Angela to use them in particular ways for free?

· Does the library already own a license to use particular works in the ways Angela proposes? If none of the foregoing apply, Angela and the library may need to obtain permission to engage in the activity at issue – either directly from the copyright owner or through a collective rights organization.

Additional resources

“A Fair(y) Use Tale” is a 2008 short movie on copyright and fair use in the US. According to the synopsis, “professor Eric Faden of Bucknell University created this humorous, yet informative, review of copyright principles delivered through the words of the very folks we can thank for nearly endless copyright terms”. http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/documentary-film-program/film/a-fair-y-use-tale

Carol C. Henderson, “Libraries as Creatures of Copyright: Why Librarians Care about Intellectual Property Law and Policy,” 1998. The former Executive Director of the Washington Office American Library Association explains which role librarians may play to maintain copyright balance. http://www.acrl.org/ala/aboutala/offices/wo/woissues/copyrightb/copyrightarticle/librariescreatures.cfm

Assignment and discussion questions

Round 1 questions

Based on the textbook and the additional resources, please explain briefly what copyright law attempts to protect, and what legal mechanisms are available to give access to works to the public.

Besides helping a professor to build a course pack, please describe one or two situations or projects involving copyright law and the public domain in the work of librarians.

Round 2 question

Please read the answers that your colleagues provided to the Round 1 questions, and comment on them. Try to explain why you agree or disagree, and which new ideas may have come to your mind after reading your colleagues’ answers.

Do not hesitate to give examples you faced in your life as an author, a member of the public, or a librarian.

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